Top seed Justine Henin received an easy victory to start her Australian Open this year as she defeated Japanese Aiko Nakamura 6-2, 6-2 in Melbourne on Monday.

 

 

Spain's Rafael Nadal smiles during a news conference at Melbourne Park Jan. 12, 2008 ahead of the Australian Open tennis tournament, which begins on Monday.

 

The world No.1, who claimed the title in 2004 but missed last year's Australian Open, breezed past the first set but was broke by the world No.73 at the beginning of the second set and trailed at 2-0.

 

Henin refused to give Aiko any more chance and fought back to win her second meeting with the 24-year-old Japanese.

 

Defending champion Serena Williams also cruised into the second round after a 6-3, 6-3 win over wildcard Jarmila Gajdosova.

 

 

Justine Henin of Belgium reacts during the first round match against Aiko Nakamura of Japan in the women's singles in the Australia Open Tennis Tournament at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne Jan. 14, 2008. Henin won 2-0(6-2,6-2).

 

The seventh seeded Williams totally dashed the hopes of the home player by her powerful serves and returns.

 

Russian Maria Sharapova managed a 6-4, 6-3 win over Jelena Kostanic Tosic later on Monday.

 

Sharapova, who entered the final of the tournament last year but was defeated by unseeded Serena Williams, will face a test against Lindsay Davenport in the next round.

 

"It's going to be a completely different opponent than the opponent I played today. Lindsay is a big hitter, has a big serve. She is more of a 1-2 ball combination type of player. It's going to be very important to serve well and return well and hopefully get a good hit on the first ball," said Sharapove.

 

In the men's first round, ninth seed Andy Murray had his Australian Open dream ended by Wilfried Tsonga, as Murray lost the match 5-7, 4-6, 6-0 and 6-7 and became the only top 10 seed that lost on Monday.

 

Elsewhere, second seed Rafael Nadal survived a two and a half hours marathon against Viktor Troicki 7-6, 7-5 and 6-1 to enter the second round, while sixth seed Andy Roddick won out in straight sets against Lukas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic.

 

 

Serena Williams of the US returns a ball during the first round match against Jarmila Gajdosova of Australia in the women's singles in the Australia Open Tennis Tournament at Rod Laver Arena Jan. 14, 2008. Serena Williams won 2-0 (6-3,6-3).

 

Spaniard Tommy Robredo, number 11 this year, had a scare against Mischa Zverev but won out eventually after a marathon five-setter.

 

(Xinhua News Agency January 15, 2008)